Driving while black

There's talk about police stopping people "driving while black." Having raised some teens, let me tell you that happens to whites, Hispanics and Asians also. Usually there is a teen driver, male, a snappy, loud car (either modified or just a bad muffler) alcohol involved, other kids as passengers as a distraction and the police may have saved some lives. We've gotten those calls after midnight to come to the hospital.

I've been stopped 3 times--got my license when I was 16 and am now 80. First when I was a teen, second when I was middle aged, and third when I was old and stupid. I was at fault all 3 times. And it's possible those are the only 3 times I really shouldn't have been doing wrong things while driving because I'm pretty careful and don't drive much. That said, I have seen hundreds of accidents while on the road and am always thankful when I see the police have arrived to help, to get the ambulance on the scene and to move ahead the gawkers and people in a hurry around the scene of destruction and death.

I say a prayer and then forget until the next time.

The blizzard of '08

That's what they are calling it here in central Ohio. Those of you in Illinois, Wisconsin and northern NY would probably yawn and go back to bed, but it's a lot for us, especially since it was near 70 degrees last Monday. It's 12-14" where my husband is shoveling, and the condo crew had cleaned it all off last night by 11 p.m. Our daughter lives in a south west suburb and our son lives in a south east suburb, and they both have more than we do--but it's a good reason to talk on a Saturday morning.





I shoveled a path behind my van this morning, thinking things didn't look too bad, but once I got out on a main street, I discovered that although it had been plowed by the city crews, I couldn't see anything, nor could I turn around. So I continued driving until I got to Panera's and pulled in. I struggled up to the door only to see a sign that said, Sorry, but due to the weather, we aren't opening until 8 a.m. A staffer took pity on me and let me in, turned on the fireplace, and brought me a cup of coffee and a newspaper. Wasn't that sweet? Now that is customer service! I asked him if he'd like to be my grandson. I didn't stay long, and when I went back to my van, it took about 10 minutes to scrape and clean enough to see the road I couldn't really see. Two good things. No one but me and the snow plows were out there. Also, I'd replaced my tires in the fall--and they really came through for me.

Update: 20.4 inches in 24 hours--a new record. The old record was 15" in 1910. We had more snow in 1978, but it was over several days.